FOG EYED IN COPTER CRASH
Officials seek area weather photos from that time
Investigators are eyeing fog as the possible cause of the helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others near Los Angeles, at a time when local police had grounded their choppers.
Federal transportation authorities are now asking the public for weather photos taken in the area at the time of the fatal crash.
“We have a request for the public: We’re looking for photos of the weather in the area of the crash … if you could send those photos to witness@ntsb.gov,” said NTSB’s Jennifer Homendy said at a Monday press conference.
Federal investigators were sifting through debris at the Calabasas, Calif., crash scene on Monday as people around the world continued to mourn the loss of the basketball icon, including Barbara Isaac who brought yellow and purple flowers to Boston’s TD Garden in memory of the Lakers superstar.
“It’s like he’s a family member, like a brother, a cousin,” said Isaac, 35, a Los Angeles native who now lives in Boston. She, along with a friend, brought the flowers and wrote messages to Bryant and his daughter Gianna on the front page of Monday’s Boston Herald, with its image of Bryant and the word “LEGEND.”
“He’s just an amazing inspiration, and he’s given us so much,” Isaac said. “Growing up in LA, seeing someone so young and so talented was such an inspiration. We believed we could do something like that.”
TD Garden was lit up in purple and gold Monday night in memory of Bryant, a longtime Celtics rival and ultra-competitor who’s considered one of the greatest players of all time.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to all affected by yesterday’s tragedy,” TD Garden tweeted.
Bryant, 41, was on his way to a travel basketball game with his daughter on Sunday when the helicopter crashed about 20 miles from Mamba Sports Academy, Bryant’s basketball training complex in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
The pilot had received special clearance to fly in heavy fog just minutes before the crash. At one point, air traffic controllers instructed the chopper to circle because of other planes in the area.
The helicopter circled for 12 minutes, Homendy said. The pilot told air traffic controllers in his last radio message that he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer.
Among those killed in the crash were John Altobelli, longtime head coach of Southern California’s Orange Coast College baseball team and a former Cape Cod League coach; his wife, Keri; and daughter, Alyssa, who played on the same basketball team as Bryant’s daughter.
Basketball coach Christine Mauser also died in the crash, her husband wrote on Facebook.
“My kids and I are devastated,” Matt Mauser wrote. “We lost our beautiful wife and mom today in a helicopter crash. Please respect our privacy. Thank you for all the well wishes they mean so much.”
Gianna’s teammate Payton Chester and her mother, Sarah Chester, were also on board, according to the City of Newport Beach.
The former principal of Harbor View Elementary School, Todd Schmidt, wrote about the Chesters: “While the world mourns the loss of a dynamic athlete and humanitarian, I mourn the loss of two people just as important … their impact was just as meaningful, their loss will be just as keenly felt, and our hearts are just as broken.”
Ara Zobayan was the helicopter’s pilot, according to a close friend.
“Ara was an incredible pilot, instructor pilot, charter pilot and truly a great man,” Jared Yochim wrote on Facebook. “He was not your typical egotistical helicopter pilot like most of us honestly are. Ara was a man that always remained cool, calm and collected. As more people that knew Ara open up about him, you’ll only hear words like professional, calculated and loving. He was always good for a laugh.”
While investigators have yet to establish the cause of the wreck, the tragedy raised questions of whether the chopper should have been traveling on a foggy day.
When asked if the sheriff ’s department was using helicopters at the time of the crash, LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said, “We had none operating in the area at the time … because of the weather.”
The aircraft crashed at about 1,400 feet, according to data from Flightradar24. When it struck the ground, the helicopter was flying at about 184 mph and descending at a rate of more than 4,000 feet per minute, the data showed.